Bath media group Future has become the sixth-largest fashion and beauty publisher in the US following its latest acquisition.
The group, which has built up a strong portfolio of titles in North America over recent years through a string of takeovers and has content reaching one-in-three adults online, is paying a reported $100m (£82m) for digital-only women’s lifestyle publisher WhoWhatWear.
Former Elle magazine editors Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr launched the platform in 2006, rolling it into consumer lifestyle company Clique Brands
According to GoogleAnalytics, the website has 12m users and 10m social media followers and also produces a line of clothing and accessories.
Future, which has made acquisitions in the US over recent years valued at around £1.4bn, said WhoWhatWear was highly regarded by consumers and advertisers, with a strong social presence and diverse revenue streams ranging from digital advertising to eCommerce.
It said the acquisition further strengthened its position in the women’s lifestyle vertical and gave it greater scale and reach in North America to further monetise its audience.
It also said its existing women’s lifestyle brands would benefit from WhoWhatWear's leading direct advertising sales capabilities, while WhoWhatWear would benefit from Future’s proprietary technology stack and operating model to drive the platform effect.
Future chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne said: “We are delighted to welcome the WhoWhatWear team to Future.
“We look forward to working with them to further bolster our women’s lifestyle scale and reach, notably in the US, and are excited about leveraging its scale with our proprietary technology and operating model.”
WhoWhatWear co-founder and chief content officer Hillary Kerr added: "Since our launch in 2006, Who What Wear has been and will continue to be a pioneer in every form of digital content, from website and social media to live stream shopping, podcasts, and more.
“We have created a sustainable brand and are excited about the next stage in our growth trajectory as we build our scale and presence as part of Future.”
Future said the will be funded from its existing debt facilities. Future’s acquisitions over recent years have included the £300m takeover publishing group Dennis, which added another 12 titles to its stable, including The Week and Science & Nature, GoCo, the firm behind Go Compare insurance, which it bought for £594m, and TI Media, which added 40 titles including Horse & Hound, Woman & Home and Wallpaper, for £140m.
